Nyayo Tea Zones Development Corporation (NTZDC) was established in 1986 under the State Corporation Act, Cap 466 which clearly spells out the organization’s mandate and gives the function of the corporation. The overarching mandate is conservation using the forest buffer concept made up of tea and various tree species. The rationale of setting up Nyayo Tea Zones was to guard against encroachment of the forest in this particular case the gazetted forest and also trust lands.

In view of the organization’s footprint, Nyayo Tea Zone, has a buffer length of 939kms stretch with a width of about 100 meters that covers entire forest plantations amounting to 1.8 million hectares, representing 44% of the total forest cover which is 4.2million hectares in the entire country.  The organization’s Buffer model covers a small portion of the total forest land through creating buffer belts which are an establishment of both trees and tea measuring 100 meters in width and surrounding the total gazetted forests in the country.

Notably, in areas where the organization has not been able to establish tea, they have planted various tree species which include exotic and the indigenous tree species. Indigenous tree species have been established within the riparian areas and they amount to about 5% of the total area.